EV-Friendly Northeast States Link Up

Transportation, energy and environmental officials from 10 Northeast states and the District of Columbia are joining forces in the Northeast Electric Vehicle Network, a bid to bolster economic growth and support the region’s leadership in the clean energy economy while reducing its dependence on oil and emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants.

The network has goals to promote all clean vehicles and fuels and facilitate planning for and the deployment of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations and related infrastructure throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states. The group will also work together to attract additional public and private investment in infrastructure for clean vehicles.

image via Toyota

The network, which emerged out of the region’s ongoing Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI), includes Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont. The TCI will help coordinate the efforts of the new network.

The network recently scored a $1 million Electric Vehicle Readiness Grant grant awarded to the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority on behalf of TCI. This grant, announced in September by the U.S. Department of Energy, will fund the development of guidelines for the siting, permitting and installation of EV charging stations, a critical next step in the development of the network. In the future, the network hopes to collaborate with the private sector, utilities and local governments on a blueprint for EV deployment as well as agree upon a set of consistent infrastructure standards.

Steve Duda lives in West Seattle, WA with three dogs and a lot of outdoor gear. A part-time fly fishing fishing guide and full-time writer, Steve’s work has appeared in Rolling Stone, Seattle Weekly, American Angler, Fly Fish Journal, The Drake, Democracy Now! and many others.